Fast Friday

I have decided to make Friday, August 15, 2008, a day of fasting for myself. I'll only drink water, and eat no food, from 12:00am to 11:59pm. I thought posting this here would help my commitment. Perhaps it'll encourage somebody else to do the same, and knowing other people are at it will help us all.

I've never done an all day fast. I've probably never even done a daylight fast, or anything like that. As Stephen Colbert said once on the Daily Show, 'I like to eat.' So why am I doing this? Lots of reasons, and no reason.

With running, I've been pushing myself physically. Presumably some part of the reason is to see what I'm capable of. Not eating for a day will be pushing myself.

In a similar spirit, I expect that not eating for a day has health benefits (at least, 'can have', with proper consideration). Again, with the running I've been doing, I don't feel unhealthy. I'm fortunate to never have had a problem with my weight. All the same, I expect there can be benefit here.

Also with things like marathons, it's something I can say I've done. Sure, lots of people have run marathons. Heck, Oprah ran a marathon. Still. Like bungee jumping, and hopefully someday sky diving, I, too, have been there. I can have some sense of what it's like. After Friday, I'll (hopefully) be able to add 'a day of fasting' to the list.

Finally, I know that I am fortunate to have the problem of deciding what to eat several times a day, instead of wondering if I'm going to be able to eat. I am a lucky member of a wealthy nation. I don't know how exactly a day of fasting fits in here. Perhaps by putting myself, even just a little, in somebody else's shoes, something beneficial will happen. Or perhaps I'm just another 'rich' asshole trying to make himself feel better without actually doing anything worthwhile.

Whatever the cause, whatever the effect, I'm going for it. I'll let you know how it goes. But before that, I'm heading to Knoxville to see Nine Inch Nails in concert, and then spend a day in the Great Smoky Mountains, so I'll presumably tell you about that, or at least point you at pictures.